Courts / Dublin / Report
Son of man serving life sentence for murder gets 10 years for involvement in armed raid
Summary
Sean Donnelly, aged 20, was sentenced to ten years for his role in an armed raid on a Portmarnock credit union. During the raid, a gun was pointed at Garda Michael Bolton and a car was hijacked. Donnelly attempted to calm the other raider, who threatened staff and a customer with a hand pistol. Bolton pursued the raiders on his bicycle, was threatened with a gun, and later chased the hijacked car until it crashed near Belmayne Road. Donnelly had previously pleaded guilty to robbery of €2,900 from the credit union, possession of a firearm, and hijacking in 2012, and to robbery of a cash‑in‑transit worker in 2014. He had 43 prior convictions. Judge Martin Nolan imposed consecutive sentences totaling ten years, suspending the final three years on strict conditions. The case highlighted Donnelly's involvement in multiple criminal acts and his relationship with his father, who is serving a life sentence for murder.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Son of man serving life sentence for murder gets 10 years for involvement in armed raid. Charges or matters: robbery of €2,900 from Portmarnock Credit Union, possession of a firearm and hi-jacking on November 16, 2012; robbery of the cash-in-transit worker at Clarehall Shopping Centre, on the Malahide Road, Dublin 17, on April 26, 2014. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- November 16, 2012 Incident
- April 26, 2014 Incident
- 2015-01-21 Publication
Why: He pointed it at the customer's legs, while the staff were sure the weapon was going to go off because it was being waved around so much. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: robbery of €2,900 from Portmarnock Credit Union, possession of a firearm and hi-jacking on November 16, 2012; robbery of the cash-in-transit worker at Clarehall Shopping Centre, on the Malahide Road, Dublin 17, on April 26, 2014 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: He sentenced Donnelly to consecutive sentences totalling 10 years before he suspended the final three years of that term on strict conditions. He was later sentenced to life.
Places mentioned
- Belmayne Road
- Belcamp Crescent
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Portmarnock
- Portmarnock Credit Union
- Malahide Road
Topics
Stage Sentence Theft Violent Crime
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